Woodland Park seeks bigger bucks for I-80 billboard

WOODLAND PARK - It remains to be seen who will be erecting a billboard to overlook Interstate 80 near Brophy Lane as the borough council has rejected all bids to lease a parcel of land in the area for that purpose and instructed the borough administrator to rebid the project.

The mayor and council were to decide Wednesday night on a bid award for the project, funds from which would be dedicated to vehicles and equipment for borough first responders, but officials say they rejected the three bids for financial and legal purposes.

"A rebidding would provide the borough with the opportunity to maximize the revenue for the lease," said borough attorney Albert Buglione. He added: "The revenue that could be generated would be substantially larger than what has been bid."

The top bidder, Allvision, would have paid Woodland Park $1.95 million over the course of the 20 year land lease, or 20 percent of the annual advertising revenue, whichever is greater. Their plan was to erect a double-sided digital LED billboard.

Buglione also recommended they reject the bids to keep the town out of court.

"With regard to this particular matter, which is the bid proposal, we have been confronted with a situation where there is a threat of litigation," Buglione said. He did not elaborate and later declined to described the nature said potential litigation.

Mayor Keith Kazmark did say, however, that a challenge came from the second highest bidder, CBS Outdoor.

"The second bidder's lawyer was sending letters pointing out issues with the bid," he said.

Borough administrator Kevin Galland questioned Allvision's bid, which includes revenue estimates from various of the company's assets.

"I question why the bid - the proposed payment of $1.95 million - is nearly half what these other clients are getting?"

Bob Micsak, president of Allvision, says it partly has to do with location. An advertisement at the Midtown Tunnel would be more profitable for example, he said. - "It's going to be a lot better of a rate than in a suburban market that is over a highway."

He also noted that Woodland Park would see a "kicker" in the form of 20 percent of the advertising revenue if such is greater than the minimum $1.95 million.

Although he did not have specific revenue estimates readily available, James Manfredi, executive vice president of operations for Allvision, was likewise confident that the 20 percent would bring in the bucks for Woodland Park over and above the minimum guaranteed revenue.

"We believe they're going to make a lot more," he said in an interview. "There's a reason we're trying to build the sign. It's because we believe it would generate good numbers."

However, Louis D'Arminio, an attorney for CBS Outdoor, told the council that a restructured bid proposal would be better for the borough.

"The bidding reveals that a rebid would greatly benefit the taxpayers of the municipality," he said.

And he played up his company's bid package. While Allvision bid the highest in terms of the minimum rate, CBS Outdoor bid a higher "percentage rate," a reference to the share of funds Woodland Park would see from the advertising revenue, he said.

Manfredi disagrees with D'Arminio's assessment.

"I don't think someone coming up and saying those things should affect their decision," he said. "It just sounds like sour grapes to me."

Woodland Park's rejection of the bids comes after two presentations from Allvision, during which company representatives promised to do all they could to mitigate the aesthetic impacts of the billboard, including through the preservation and planting of trees.

Manfredi offered diagrams of a White Pine, and a Norway Spruce, among other trees that his company might plant around the billboard, and has even told residents his company would not take down an existing Blue Spruce at the northeast corner of McBride Avenue and Brophy Lane, where the billboard's foundation would have been placed.